True Blood Viewing Party

As promised, here are my pictures from my Sunday viewing party of True Blood.

Lots of romantic, vampy mood lighting. I used all different kinds of red and white candles.

In this picture, I filled red (food dye) water into a vase with floating votive candles

I placed some of the candles on top of a mirror. Mirrors always enhance a tablescape!

~Menu~

Chocolate Covered Strawberries and lots of them

(You could also dip them in chocolate and them drizzle them with white chocolate and add some red food coloring)

Bridget proves the perfect bombshell co-hostess with her chocolate covered strawberries.

Cupcakes with Fake Blood

An easy, delicious fake blood recipe

Great for decorating cupcakes or when you’re trying to gross someone out

Ingredients:

• Chocolate powder

• Corn Starch

• Red food coloring

Directions

Mix chocolate powder, corn starch, and a little cold water together. Stir until smooth. Add a generous amount of red food coloring. Stir again. Then top off with boiling hot water to enhance the texture.

Splatter it around for a gory, delicious mess. Feel free to spill it all over you because it just tastes chocolaty!

~Drinks~

Strawberry Margaritas

Ingredients

• 2 cups crushed ice
• 1/2 cup strawberry puree (frozen can or fresh strawberries, pureed)
• 1 cup tequila
• 2 limes, juiced
• Splash Triple Sec
• Splash simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water heated until sugar dissolves, then cooled)
• Red food dye (for that bloody vampire look)

Directions

Combine in a blender, ice, strawberry water, tequila, lime juice, Triple Sec and simple syrup. Add red food dye mid-way. Puree until smooth. Pour into rocks glasses and serve.

• Shirley Temples

No recipe required (Grenadine, soda, and maraschino cherries).

I prefer Sprite other Ginger Ale, but always, always, extra cherries. What can I say? I’m a Bombshell, I love excess.

Dripping Blood

The “blood rim” is made from the same kind of mixture as you’d use to make hard candy. It’s actually pretty easy, but you will need a candy thermometer (which you can find at most grocery stores).

Ingredients:
1 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Karo Syrup
1/2 c. Water
Red Food Coloring
Cinnamon (optional)

Directions:
Combine sugar, syrup and water. Cook without stirring to hard crack stage – which is 300 degrees F. Add food coloring. (Optional: Cinnamon may be added for flavor.)

Turn off heat. While the mixture is still hot, dunk the top of the cocktail glass into the mixture to create the red rim. If you need to do several glasses, keep the mixture hot so it lasts longer (instead of turning heat off, just reduce slightly).You can go anywhere from just along the very tip of the rim to part way down the glass – whichever you prefer. Flip the glass right side up to cool. The thick consistency of the mixture will cause “drips” as it hardens on the glass!

~Some more party ideas~    

 *Courtesy of Hostess With the Mostess

• Create napkin rings from glow in the dark plastic fangs… and have more sets of fangs available for photo ops!

• Drizzle bowls of popcorn with butter that’s been colored red.

• Set up a creative, themed black & red candy buffet…mixed in with “bloody” candy accents and clever details from the movie.

 

Must have accessory of the season!?

~Plastic Fangs~

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for my inspiration for a Gossip Girl Premiere Party. Monday was phenomenal with my Serena and Blair inspired dinner party. xoxoxo

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True Blood Party : Vampire Themed Gala

Every bombshell has their guilty pleasures. One of mine is the thoroughly entertaining, campy, and (of course) sexy HBO series, “True Blood.” Sunday was the season finale of Season 2 and all weekend I was in full-blown party mode.

I wanted to post about the potential inspiration drawn from the series. I decided to go for the obvious ghoulish, red, bloody theme for a True Blood Party.

However, I could have always done something campy and unique like a maenad inspired, Dionysian feast. Inspired by the mysterious mischief-maker Maryann who throws one raging party.  Back when we first met the beautiful Mary Ann, we knew she was up to something but we didn’t realize it was no good. She lived in a palatial home with a spectacular pool, she was always chopping up exotic fruit and she rolled a mean joint. She took in Tara and Eggs, saying that she was just trying to help get them back up on their feet, but soon she began throwing raging parties with orgiastic results.

Very evil, but sexy Greek God worshipper Maryann

Maryann whips customers in Merlotte’s bar into a writhing, dancing froth.

“Greek Mythology defines Maenads as the female followers of Dionysus.  A literal translation of the name means “raving ones” In Wikipedia the Maenads are said to be inspired by Dionysus “into a state of ecstatic frenzy, through a combination of dancing and drunken intoxication. In this state, they would lose all self control, begin shouting excitedly, engage in uncontrolled sexual behavior, and ritualistically hunt down and tear animals (and sometimes men and children) to pieces, devouring the raw flesh.”

Maryann’s Dance: Get inspired

The menu would be tons of booze and lots of exotic fruit…

But I digress, big time! I promise to come up with a theme inspired by Maryann some other time. The pressing question is how do you have a classy Vampire-inspired viewing party?

I was inspired by this blog’s take on a Twilight theme party. I’m personally not a fan of the books, but I was taken with their romantic theme and featuring candle light as one of the focal points of their tablescape. As any Bombshell knows, mood lighting is key.

Again, not a huge fan of the books, but gotta love the sexy red theme.

Candles as the focal point

I’d probably go for red, white, and a couple of black candles thrown in.

You could make “blood drip candles” by drizzling melted was from a red candle on top of a white taper candle, then displaying them in cool candelabras.

Playing on the red theme, check out this tablescape* from Social Couture:

*A tablescape is the overall look of your table, and the area around the table. It includes the table centerpiece , the place settings, napkins, decorations, chairs, and anything else used to set the mood of the table. The tablescape can set the tone for the whole party, or gathering.

Now what to serve at a True Blood party? You could always get inspired by Merlottes and flip some Lafayette-inspired burgers and serve some of Sam Merlotte’s special chili.

But what about a romantic True Blood party? Let’s stick with the theme of red, finger food, and most importantly, drinks, and lots of them.

~Menu~

• Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

• Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

• “Cherry Gore”

Courtesy of the True Blood Wiki page

-Get ample Pitted cherries ( figure 1 cup per expected guest)
-Pit them
-Run through a food processor or blender until just chapped and mangled
-Get a baking tray (like for brownies or sheet cake)
– Spread cherry mash out in tray
– Put in freezer (not long enough to freeze them HARD – Just STIFFEN)
– Put in glasses and serve w/ spoon

This is also good with a variety of alcohol, ice cream, yogurt, etc. Its icy and it looks like bloody vampire viscera.

• Chocolate fondue / Chocolate fountain

Featuring white chocolate that’s been dyed red to look like blood, of course!

Just add red food dye to the white chocolate!

• Red Velvet Cupcakes that look like they’ve been splattered with blood

Just like these fabulous creations from Retro Bakery in Las Vegas

~Drinks~

• Vampire Kiss Martini

1 part vodka (chilled), 1 part champagne, 1 part Chambord

Pour vodka, then top off with Champagne.

Finish up with the “blood”:  pour some of the Chambord

over the back of a spoon to make it float

White candles, dripped red melted candels on top

• Pina Gouhlada

A frothy drink is tempting enough, but one served in a red-rimmed glass is particularly enticing to monsters who drink blood. Corn syrup with food coloring tinges the classic pina colada with a devilish sweetness. Dip the rim of each glass into the red mixture, spinning slowly to coat. Turn glasses upright; the red liquid will drip slightly, then set. Pour drinks, and serve. Drinkers’ lips may be stained pink — much like those of a sated vampire.

• Strawberry Margaritas (throw in some extra red food dye)

• Blood Thirsty Marys

How to make a bloody rim for all of your seductive drinks:

From Hostess With The Mostess Blog

The “blood rim” is made from the same kind of mixture as you’d use to make hard candy. It’s actually pretty easy, but you will need a candy thermometer (which you can find at most grocery stores).

Ingredients:
1 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Karo Syrup
1/2 c. Water
Red Food Coloring
Cinnamon (optional)

Directions:
Combine sugar, syrup and water. Cook without stirring to hard crack stage – which is 300 degrees F. Add food coloring. (Optional: Cinnamon may be added for flavor.)

Turn off heat. While the mixture is still hot, dunk the top of the cocktail glass into the mixture to create the red rim. If you need to do several glasses, keep the mixture hot so it lasts longer (instead of turning heat off, just reduce slightly).You can go anywhere from just along the very tip of the rim to part way down the glass – whichever you prefer. Flip the glass right side up to cool. The thick consistency of the mixture will cause “drips” as it hardens on the glass!

~Non-alcoholic Drinks~

• Blood-Red Hot Chocolate
  

Those who want to sink their teeth into blood-red drinks will enjoy cups of hot chocolate, tinged scarlet with food coloring.

• Shirley Temples

~Party Invites and Favors~

The True Blood Wiki has posted some awesome pdf’d party invites and labels to create your own True Blood bottles.

Print them out and stick them on Sobe or Jones Soda bottles.

For more inspiration, please check out this fantastic True Blood-inspired Birthday Party!!!

I promise to post more inspiration and my own True Blood finale party pics tomorrow. Stay tuned….

A few nagging questions from last night’s True Blood final

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